Report

Laurent Brochard went against team orders on Sunday to win the elite men's road
race and give France their third title of the world cycling championships.

His powerful finish took him past Dutchman Leon van Bon in the last 25 metres of the 256.5-kilometre race which closed the
six-day championships. Denmark's Bo Hamburger edged out Van Bon for the silver.

The French plan was to control the race over the last 100 kms for world number one Laurent Jalabert, who won Thursday's
time-trial title.

But Brochard had ideas of his own. ``I did not feel obliged to follow orders because I felt so strong,'' he said.

``I was working for the team but when I saw them lagging I decided to act. My role was to neutralise breakaways but I was alone
and I could not see any of my team coming, so I made my move.

Frenchman Laurent Brochard
won the men's road race at the world cycling championships here
today -- giving France its eighth win in the event.

The 29-year-old Brochard, who won the first mountain stage in
this year's Tour de France, won in a sprint finish with Bo
Hamburger of Denmark second and Dutchman Leon Van Bon third at the
end of the 256.5km race.

The pony-tailed Brochard, who was the first French winner since
Luc Leblanc in 1994, admitted that he was really riding for French
captain Laurent Jalabert, who had claimed the time-trial
championship on Thursday.

"We worked really hard for Jalabert. However, I found myself
among the escapees and I waited and waited until I finally played
my ace in the sprint," Brochard said.

Brochard, part of the successful Festina team which claimed
several stage wins in this year's Tour de France and saw team
captain Richard Virenque finish second overall, was part of a
six-man breakaway on the final lap.

Van Bon tried in vain to make a decisive break in the last
couple of kilometres but was reeled in by Hamburger, Brochard,
German veteran Udo Bolts, Spaniard Melchior Mauri and Swiss rider
Lurent Dufaux.

British hopes were extinguished when their Olympic bronze
medallist Maximilian Sciandri, the Italian-born naturalised Briton,
crashed out on the 17th lap.
``I dedicate this victory to myself because I worked hard for it.''

He tried to escape one kilometre from the finish but was reeled in by Van Bon as six unfancied riders shaped up for the medal
battle.

Van Bon's sprint for the line was no match for the stronger Brochard. ``He played a very smart game and my only chance was to
sprint,'' the Dutchman said.

Brochard's biggest previous success was winning a Tour de France stage in the Pyrenees on Bastille Day this year. But for some
years he was considered a clumsy and awkward rider who was prone to crashing.

``I have had several crashes in my career but little by little I am making progress,'' Brochard said.

He has suffered with a back problem and last year had an operation to correct a ruptured disc. ``Sometimes my legs feel stiff but
my back is improving,'' he said.

Five victories this year underline his progress and Sunday's triumph over a wet and windswept course was built on an escape in
the last five kilometres.

Spain's Melchor Mauri raced away, chased by Brochard and van Bon. Less than two kilometres from the finish Hamburger,
Germany's Udo Bolts, and Switzerland's Laurent Dufaux joined them.

Belgian Johan Museeuw, last year's champion, finished 16 seconds behind them in a pursuing group which included Jalabert.

The first of the three French golds at these championships was won by Jeannie Longo in the elite women's time-trial on
Wednesday. Augmented by a bronze from Catherine Marsal in the elite women's road race, France finished top of the medals
table.

Italy also had three golds. Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Russia shared the remaining four titles in the 10-event
championships.

An American Perspective

Laurent Brochard of France proved to be the strongest
man among a field dotted with the world’s best as he won the 256.5km elite
men’s road race, the final event of the 1997 UCI World Road Championships.

Brochard was among a front group of five riders down the 19th and final
descent of the 13.5km circuit along the coastline of the Spanish city. Once
down from the rainy descent, Brochard jumped with 1km to go and then held off
five riders for the win. Bo Hamburger of Denmark was second and Leon Van Bon
of the Netherlands was third.

The top American finisher was Chris Horner, Lemon Grove, Calif., who was
28th.

"It was a good race," said Horner, who did not finish this race a year ago.
"It’s hard to tell. You try to pick the right moves, but every time you look
up the road, everybody up there is good."

After a few tentative opening laps -- which included a delay caused by a
brief protest by Basque separatists which stopped the race near the
start-finish line -- the pace picked up as the Italians were forced to work
to bring back a nine-rider break midway through the race.

Perhaps the strongest American on the day was Chann McRae, Austin, Texas, who
was near the leaders with two laps to go. At that time, a group of 19 riders
had formed at the front, including Laurent Jalabert of France, Davide
Rebellin of Italy and defending world champion Johan Museeuw of Belgium.
McRae was instrumental in helping a group of six riders chase down the 19
leaders. He couldn’t sustain the pace and finished 31st.

Several other Americans, including Marty Jemison, Salt Lake City, Utah, were
caught behind a crash that occurred just past the feed zone with four laps to
go.

"It just split the field," Jemison said. "The (caravan) cars were blocking
the road. I thought I was surrounded by strong guys. We worked to bring it
back, but not hard enough."

Jemison finished 68th.

The French won their third gold medal of the championships, tying them with
Italy. The United States failed to win a world championship road medal for
the third consecutive year.

Preview

Johan Museeuw has fought ``the curse of the rainbow jersey'' since he first donned
the world road race champion's colours in Lugano, Switzerland a year ago.

His build-up to Sunday's title defence has been hampered by a recurrence of a urinary infection which brought the Belgian close to
being a non-starter.

After a work-out on Tuesday he declared himself ready to line up with the rest of the world's best for Sunday's 256.5 kms race
but the problem is just the latest of a troublesome season.

``Before this happened I was confident about myself but now I am not sure anymore. I feel well but that is not the same as being
in good shape,'' he said on Friday.

He first suffered the inflammation in the lead-up to the Tour de France. ``The Tour was to be my preparation for the classic races,
but instead of improving my condition it ruined it,'' he said.

Four times he has had to restart his season, but said: ``Because of the jersey I had the morale to keep coming back.''

Five months after winning the 'rainbow' colours, Museeuw injured his knee in a mountain bike crash and needed an operation to
get him fit for the season.

Then in the opening classic, the Milan to San Remo race, he was involved in a finishing-sprint pile-up.

His misfortune in classics continued in the Tour of Flanders when he was brought down. Then a week later he was with the
leaders in the Paris-Roubaix race when a puncture wrecked his chances.

So Museeuw's name was added to the list of champions whose careers have been blighted after winning the title. Over the years
it has become known as ``the curse of the rainbow jersey.''

``Before I won the title, I had had only one mishap in my career, -- a broken hip two days before the 1995 world championship,''
said Museeuw.

Rudy Dhaenens, Belgium's previous world number one, was winless in the year following his 1990 triumph. Then in 1992 he had to
retire because of heart trouble.

Stephen Roche's 1987 victory for Ireland was followed by a season of knee problems, and Frenchman Luc Leblanc also had
physical trouble after his 1994 win.

Despite the 'curse' it is still the prize all the riders want. Sunday's race has 163 starters and a string of contenders, notably
world-ranked number one Laurent Jalabert, and Bjarne Riis, the Danish winner of the 1996 Tour de France.

After his unexpected time trial title win on Thursday Jalabert said: ``I just hope I have something left for Sunday.''

Alex Zuelle lost that title mainly because of two punctures, and the Swiss rider, who scored his second Tour of Spain victory last
month, will be looking for a consolation.

Riis is also highly motivated after a disappointing 1997 Tour, but the race is without a firm favourite.